In Malawi!

My travel to Malawi went smoothly.  Thank you for all the prayers!  I arrived Wednesday evening and stayed with the factory manager, Liyaka and his family.  On Thursday I went to the Project Peanut Butter factory.  It was amazing! I got to observe the factory workers making literally tons of the RUTF!  Liyaka took me on a tour and explained everything from how the factory runs to the delivery of the RUTF to the numerous project sites.  The factory, in addition to the RUTF with powdered milk, is now making a RUTF using soy as a substitute for the milk.  This food is being used for moderate malnutrition and achieving the same amazing results.  The soy is locally grown, so this makes the supplement a quarter of the price that it costs to use the milk.  

I am staying with two awesome girls that have been in charge of the project.  Danielle has been doing the project since July and has been a part of Project Peanut Butter since the beginning. She knows the project inside out.  I couldn't have asked for a better teacher and resource to train me and answer all my questions. Johanna came last month and will be here for two.  She is a MD, so she is able to contribute to the program enormously.  The three of us and the nurses went to two of the project sites on Friday.  Johanna, Chrissy (one of the nurses), and me went to Phanda in Mwanza.  The clinic site was set up under a tree!  Johanna taught me how to check for children with oedema using physical cues.  I couldn't believe how much I was able to learn on my first day on the field.

Saturday we hiked Machiru mountain.  It was beautiful!  It was a 1,478 meters high and had the most amazing view!  The bottom of the mountain was grasslands with the sun shining brightly, but by the time we made it to the top we were hiking along the heavily forested trail through clouds.  When we reached the peak, looking down into the valleys and out to the other mountains was an incredible site.  It was beautiful to see the mountain peaks cutting into the clouds and how the sun beams hit different areas of the valley below.  Malawi has such ascetic beauty!  After we hiked back down the mountain we were worn out!   We went and had fresh mango juice, yum! It was another great day.  

Beginning on Monday I will be going out in the field again with Danielle and Johanna.  I am so excited about all I will be able to learn from them!

Off to Malawi!

The nutrition clinic at Taiama last week couldn't have gone better! Lucy and I had a great turn-out of returners. All of these children had gained weight, and some as much as three pounds! You could actually see a physical difference in the children. It is exciting to see how quickly they are thriving from the supplement. I took pictures of two of the patients that graduated from the program. I am at an internet cafe right now, so I am unable to post them. Hopefully I will be able to in a couple of weeks.

I am leaving for Malawi today! Dr. Manary, who began Project Peanut Butter in Malawi has invited me to come to his factory and clinic sites for a two week training period. What a blessing! I will be working and learning from the people who run the program there. I will learn how to screen and diagnose malnourished children and how to run our production of the supplement more efficiently. I will also learn how to train people to do the screening and monitoring of the children. I will be on the worksite the entire time, so I am not sure how my access to the internet will be. I will post if I have the chance! I am thrilled about this special opportunity to learn exactly how and what to do in order to use the knowledge I have for the program in Sierra Leone. Blessings!

The Most Useful Invention Ever

The lappa is by far the most useful material ever invented. It is a simple piece of fabric that the women tie around their waist as a long skirt. The women also use the lappas to carry children on their backs and wrapped up on their head to carry items. I have seen a woman use a lappa to lie down on as a mat. Many use them as tablecloths. They use the garment to clean-up messes that their children make, then, the lappa being made out of cotton, can be easily washed. Lappas are beautiful with and can be found in an assortment of colors and patterns. Every Friday at the CHASL office we have traditional African dress day. I have a lappa I wear, and I have to say it is the most comfortable article of clothing I have! The picture below is a woman from Lunsar, a town in Sierra Leone. She is using three lappas: one to carry the child, another to carry the bucket on her head, and the other as a skirt.

I will be heading to Taiama today to hold the child malnutrition clinic on Thursday and Friday with Lucy, the local healthcare worker. I will be taking 120 kilograms of RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food) with me! I will be back on Friday evening. Peace!